After Rs 823.50 cr, Ramayana enters the 99th Oscars race

Nitesh Tiwari’s mythological epic is not just ruling the box office—it is also chasing a place at the 99th Academy Awards. Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, led by Ranbir Kapoor, Yash and Sai Pallavi, has reportedly been submitted for awards consideration, while the Marathi film Gondhal carries India’s official International Feature entry.

How the main Oscar race actually works

The biggest misunderstanding around India and the Oscars is that the official entry blocks everything else. In the main categories, eligibility is open. A film can compete if it has a commercial screening for seven consecutive days in an eligible US city—Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth or Atlanta—and the maker files the entry form with production details.

International Feature Film follows a different road. Each country can send one movie through its recognised selection committee, the familiar ‘one country, one film’ rule. But the Academy also lets films that win certain awards at selected international festivals qualify independently.

Three Indian films, three paths

This season makes that layered system visible:

• Ramayana: Rise of a Legend has been submitted for the main awards, where it must meet the theatrical release requirements.
• Gondhal is India’s official submission in the International Feature Film category.
• Angh, a Naga-language film, earned eligibility by winning the Platform Award at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival.

For fans, the takeaway is simple: India does not have only one horse in this race. A commercial blockbuster, a state-backed official selection and a festival winner can all chase global recognition through separate doors.

The parallel routes also matter because a film that misses the official selection can still build an international profile. Angh’s TIFF win is the example: a festival platform can become an awards platform, even without a committee’s nod.

Box-office muscle behind the push

Ramayana: Rise of a Legend is entering the awards conversation with enormous theatrical energy. The film crossed Rs 800 cr worldwide within six days of release. According to Sacnilk, it collected Rs 94.10 cr net in India on Tuesday, November 10, taking domestic gross to Rs 526.50 cr and worldwide gross to Rs 823.50 cr.

That momentum is a useful amplifier for an awards campaign, but the next steps are procedural: complete the qualifying US run, file on time and let voters decide.

Source: The Times of India